Light transport on test flight has nose wheel hit lip of runway upon landing.

Attributes
ACN	229243
Time
Date	199211
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : sat
State Reference	TX
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	other
Make Model Name	Small Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turboprop Eng
Flight Phase	landing other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : cfi pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 70 flight time total : 4100 flight time type : 360
ASRS Report	229243
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : local
Qualification	controller : non radar
Events
Anomaly	non adherence other other anomaly other other anomaly other other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Aircraft was on final approach for a visual to runway 30R at sat. Increased sink rate was noted by the pilot and corrective action consisting of adding power and decreasing sink were initiated. Aircraft touched down short of the runway. Nose wheel hit lip of the runway and was pushed back up into the air resulting in a balloon. Airplane was relanded without further incident. Contributing factors that created the visual illusion that the airplane would make the runway are: the terrain before the runway is lower than the lip, the runway crown is higher in the center than the edges, the large nose of the airplane inhibits the view of the landing area. The sink rate may have been due to a decreasing wind gradient. VASI was not observed to be in operation, there was no ILS guidance. Short landing was due to sink rate and visual illusion.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: LTT ON TEST FLT HAS NOSE WHEEL HIT LIP OF RWY UPON LNDG.

Narrative: ACFT WAS ON FINAL APCH FOR A VISUAL TO RWY 30R AT SAT. INCREASED SINK RATE WAS NOTED BY THE PLT AND CORRECTIVE ACTION CONSISTING OF ADDING PWR AND DECREASING SINK WERE INITIATED. ACFT TOUCHED DOWN SHORT OF THE RWY. NOSE WHEEL HIT LIP OF THE RWY AND WAS PUSHED BACK UP INTO THE AIR RESULTING IN A BALLOON. AIRPLANE WAS RELANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS THAT CREATED THE VISUAL ILLUSION THAT THE AIRPLANE WOULD MAKE THE RWY ARE: THE TERRAIN BEFORE THE RWY IS LOWER THAN THE LIP, THE RWY CROWN IS HIGHER IN THE CTR THAN THE EDGES, THE LARGE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE INHIBITS THE VIEW OF THE LNDG AREA. THE SINK RATE MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO A DECREASING WIND GRADIENT. VASI WAS NOT OBSERVED TO BE IN OP, THERE WAS NO ILS GUIDANCE. SHORT LNDG WAS DUE TO SINK RATE AND VISUAL ILLUSION.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.